Oracle
by Queen of the Rings
Summary: Cassandra Nimue Lilith Potter never wanted to take the spotlight. She would have been happy to remain hidden, stay in the shadows and research. But of course, her brother Harry just had to pull her into their adventures. In the end, she'll probably do what's right, defeat Lords of varying moral shades and try to keep her brother out of trouble.
1. 1-1 Medea

**Chapter 1**

 _ **Medea**_

 _She rode a chariot pulled by snakes._

Cassandra curled up closer to her brother, tucking her freezing feet into the crook behind his knees.

"Cassie," her brother groaned, turning to face her, pulling her feet from his knees as he did so. His emerald eyes caught on her face, and he reached up to pull her red hair across her left eye.

"But, Harry, I'm cold," she whispered. Harry groaned, and hugged her.

"I know."

They had a few blessed seconds before Aunt Petunia knocked on the cupboard door, and they snuggled into each other, relishing the brief warmth that came with the contact. The moment was shattered by a harsh knocking on the door.

"Get up!" a shrill voice called. "It's Dudders' birthday, and you need to cook breakfast!" The two groaned softly. "What was that?"

"Nothing," they chorused, sitting up. The cupboard was an awkward space for two, and was mostly filled with a single mattress, two blankets and a pair of storage boxes containing clothes. Being in the better position to reach, Cassandra turned the light on, the single bulb blinking. They pulled out clothes, Harry's were hand-me-downs from Dudley, Cassandra's were from the op shop. Harry pulled a spider of his sock. Cassandra shuffled into a blue-grey dress with a white collar.

She glanced in the cracked and chipped mirror that Aunt Petunia had given them in a hopeless attempt to make them care about their appearance. She scrubbed pillow creases from her face and ran her fingers through her dark hair, arranging it over the face.

Cassandra closed her eyes. It was a bad habit, but she did it anyway. She pulled the hair back from her face and tied it back with a hairband. She opened her eyes, a hand over the left side of her face. The visible right side was a relatively normal, kind of pretty face - pale skin, red lips, a bright emerald eye and high cheekbones framed with the dark red of her hair. She let her hand fall, and her gaze roamed over the left side of her face.

The puckered reddish scar stretched from her hairline to the corner of her mouth, crossing over her left eye. Her eye … it lacked the emerald shade of her right - in fact, it was pure white. An expanse of a snowy shade stretched from the corners of her eye.

"Cassie?" Harry asked, one hand on the door. Cassie turned to him and smiled faintly. "You OK?"

"Yeah. I'm OK," she replied, brushing her hair back over her blind eye. She got up to join her twin, and they left the cupboard, heading to the kitchen.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

The day was a disaster. Sort of. Mrs Figg broke her leg, so Harry and Cassandra wound up in the squished car, where, for some reason unknown to Cassandra, her brother stupidly mentioned a flying motorbike. Never mind that Cassandra had had the same dream, he just had to mention it and get their Uncle angry. They _did_ get to share a knickerbocker glory when Dudley threw a tantrum, but the really bad part was when they went into the reptile house. Cassandra liked the reptile house. It was cool, and dark, and damp, and she could hide in the shadows without anyone enquiring after her eye. She turned to a largish black mamba in a tank and watched its serpentine movements - the way it coiled around a tree branch, how the muscles moved as it moved its head to look at her. It tilted its black head to look at her with slit pupiled eyes.

"- _Hello_ -" she whispered to the snake, and she could have sworn the snake smiled. Behind her, Harry looked at a python.

"- _Hello, ssspeaker. You are quite sssurprisssing._ -" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"- _How ssso? I ssspeak the tongue of sssnakesss, asss doesss my egg-brother. It'sss not a common gift, I sssuppossse._ -" The snake gave a raspy sound, that sounded vaguely like laughter.

"- _You underessstimate the rarity of the sssnake-ssspeakersss. You are different. Not bad, but sssurprisssing. I sssuggessst you keep your sssnaky tongue a sssecret - the gift isss not liked or admired among sssorcerersss and sorceresssssssssesss._ -"

Cassandra pressed her lips together as the snake devolved into a long hiss at the last word.

"- _Sssorcerersss and sssorceresssssssssesss, you sssay? Like me?_ -" The snake nodded.

"- _Like you, ssspeaker_ -"

Then her cousin came crashing through, shoving her and Harry over as he turned to the python. The glass vanished, and as punishment, Harry and Cassandra spent a week in their cupboard.

Curled into her brothers side, fingers running gently though his hair, Cassandra nursed several bruises on her ribs. Harry cuddled into her bony frame as he drifted off, blood oozing from a cut on his lip. Cassandra ran her hands over their various injuries, letting power flow through them, healing the cuts and bruises. No broken bones that time - though their bodies were a horror story of cracked, shattered and badly-healed bones. She coaxed skin to grow over recent lacerations, and soothed swelling and aches.

She closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to anyone who listened that she and her brother would stay reasonably safe - no life-threatening injuries for at least a week.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

As Harry slipped into sleep, he felt Cassandra run her slim hands over them, and he exhaled as she eased pains he hadn't been aware of before. There had been several nights when she hadn't been able to do that - those were the brightest scars.

Cassandra always looked out for him, he mused, thoughts unhindered. Even though she was younger, she was the older twin. She protected him, always and forever.

The strange powers they had caught his attention, and he turned his sleepy mind to the conundrum. With him, it showed in his temper, the explosions, blue hair, strange appearances. But for Cassandra, it was proved in her insatiable curiosity, stunning memory, healing hands and flares of protective anger. Of course, they both shared the tongue of snakes and the scars. He pulled her closer as she pulled up the blanket, curling into her as she did the same into him.

However the strangeness showed itself in them, they were siblings, and they could protect each other.

However different they were in temperament and appearance, they loved each other, and looked out for one another.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

 **So I'm being stupid and starting another story, but I actually have a couple more chapters written, so there shouldn't be too much of a wait.**


	2. Interlude I - Hera

**Interlude 1**

 _ **Hera**_

 _She hates her husbands children with a passion, and usually winds up either killing them in various nasty ways, killing (or trying to kill) their mothers, or merely making their life as miserable as possible_

Petunia Dursley nee Evans was a normal woman with a normal life. She had a normal husband with a normal job, a normal son who went to a normal school - and a distinctly abnormal niece and nephew tucked away in the cupboard under the stairs.

Harry Potter was an odd boy. Strange things happened around him. He was a troublemaker, and he looked exactly like his father. Except…

He had those cursed green eyes.

( _Maybe if she looked less like Lily, she'd hate her more_ )

Vernon Dursley was a normal man. Slightly prone to anger, he was a wonderful husband and the father of her son Dudley. He had a normal job, and was good at what he did.

Cassandra Potter was odd. She was artistic, and Petunia could never stand those arty types. She was a bookworm, and could make brilliant leaps of logic. Vernon had tried to beat it out of her, but one time, she saw those pleading eyes - green eyes, cursed eyes. Occasionally she would say odd things that always turned out to be true.

( _Maybe if she looked less like Lily, she'd hate her more_ )

Because Cassandra Potter looked exactly like her mother - that red, red hair. Not ginger, but the red of rose petals and spilled blood.

And those cursed green eyes.

Those eyes seared into her very soul, and one day, Petunia grabbed a bottle of bleach. She got Vernon and Dudley to hold Cassandra down, and tipped that bottle into her niece's eyes - right on the burn scar.

Cassandra screamed, but was muffled by Vernon's meaty hand.

The bleach did what the burn could not - it blinded her left eye for good. It also increased the scarring.

When the bottle was empty, Petunia turned away and ignored her niece's pitiful pleading and sobbing.

( _Maybe if she looked less like Lily, she'd hate her more_ )

Now she looked less like her sister - but even more hauntingly beautiful.

Petunia didn't mind the boy as much - he was mainly under her control. But the girl, the girl …

Petunia hated Cassandra.

She looked less like Lily now …

Buy that single cursed green eye glared daggers into her back.

She'd have to get rid of that one sometime.

( _Maybe if she looked less like Lily, she'd hate her more_ )

 _Maybe if she looked more like Lily, Petunia would care about her._


	3. 1-2 Athena

**Chapter 2**

 _ **Athena**_

 _The goddess of wisdom and knowledge_

It had been decided, Cassandra mused gloomily. They were going to Stonewall High. Dudley had threatened to shove their heads down the toilet, but Cassandra had skipped off to the kitchen to cook breakfast, dragging harry behind her as ' _help_ '. She didn't need it, really, but it was helpful and it got Harry out of Dudley's clutches.

"Aunt Petunia, what's that?" Harry asked their Aunt when he noticed her appearing to stew bits of old elephant skin - which was in reality grey and wrinkled cloth.

"You're school uniform. It'll look just like every one else's when I'm done." Petunia responded with a sour expression. Cassandra tilted her head.

"Is it mine too?" she asked softly. Petunia turned to her red-headed niece, examining her. The clothes were from a local op-shop - they fitted, unlike Harry. It had been unfortunate that she couldn't get away with Cassandra wearing Dudley's old things, but the neighbours would talk. Instead, she wore second-hand clothes in grey, blue, white and cream.

"No," she snapped. "You're getting second-hand things again. Now get to work! Vernon's going to come down soon, and the boys will want their breakfast." Cassandra and Harry hurried to the kitchen. Later, as they'd finished, and were sitting down to breakfast, they heard the creak of the mail flap. Cassandra turned to Harry and they had a silent conversation. A decision was reached, just as Vernon snarled at the twins to get the mail. Cassandra got up, glaring at her brother with her visible right eye.

She left the kitchen and walked down the hallway to the door, then picked up the pile of envelopes, papers, postcards and magazines to sort through them.

"Bill, bill, postcard - oh!" she murmured. A pair of envelopes made of strangely heavy paper were addressed to her and Harry. Her eyes widened and she broke the wax seal and pulled out her letter as she walked into the kitchen. She suddenly realised where she was and stuffed the two letters - hers and Harry's- into the waistband of her skirt. She handed the normal letters to Vernon and sat down beside Harry.

"You've a letter," she whispered to him. He stared at her, and she tugged the letter from her waistband into his waiting hands. He instantly put it into his pocket.

"Keep it a secret," he whispered in response. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I know."

"What are you two whispering about?" Petunia asked in her shrill voice. Harry and Cassandra jerked apart in surprise.

"Who was going to wash up," Harry blurted. Cassandra nodded. Petunia pursed her lips, then jerked her head towards the cupboard.

"Go. Stay," she told them, and the twins scrambled to obey. They'd learned the hard way not to hang around - last time, Vernon had trapped Cassandra's fingers in the oven door and beat Harry to unconsciousness.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Once they were safely embedded in the darkness of their cupboard, Cassandra turned on the light. The pair looked over their letters, conversing in whispers lest the Dursleys hear them.

"Magic is real?" Harry asked softly.

"Yes. The black mamba in the zoo a while back - Silas? He called me a sorceress, and you a sorcerer. And, well … no-one else can speak to snakes like we can - it stands to reason." Harry nodded in agreement.

"I guess. But how do we reply? It says they await our owl, but we don't have one. We may just have to wait." Cassandra frowned for a moment, thinking.

"I think there might be one in the park. I mean, if it was an owl that delivered the letter, it's probably still hanging around somewhere. Do you think we could go down later today?"

"I suppose, but Aunt Petunia will want us to clear the table, and we need to do the weeding."

"It's a Thursday - the windows need to be cleaned. Other than that, I think we're free for the rest of the day," Cassandra put in. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, we are. So, after lunch?" Cassandra nodded back.

"After lunch," she confirmed.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

The twins had finished their chores and filched some paper and a couple of pens to write their responses to a ' _Minerva McGonagall_ ', accepting their positions and asking for someone to help them find and buy their school things. They walked down to the nearby park after lunch, and wandered around, looking for an owl. It took a while, but eventually Harry called Cassandra over to a tree in which a brown owl perched. There was a small loop around its leg, just large enough for their letters - clearly this was a wizarding owl. They attached their letters and sent the owl off to "Professor McGonagall - whoever and wherever she is".

They walked back to Privet Drive together, talking softly. They walked past the playground and didn't notice as Dudley and his gang started to follow them until they came to a relatively busy road.

"Hey _freaks_!" Dudley called. Harry and Cassandra spun around, Harry angling himself slightly in front of his sister.

"Dudley? What now?" Harry asked, emerald eyes glinting from behind his eyes. Dudley grinned evilly and walked forward, making the twins move back slightly. He reached out and shoved them.

Harry managed to catch himself just in time, but there was a squeal of car tyres and a sharp cry of pain as Cassandra toppled backwards into the path of a car. Harry turned on his cousin furiously, but he and his gang had run off. He turned back to Cassandra and noticed that her right leg was, well, shattered.

"Someone call an ambulance!" he cried. "Come on Cassie, it'll be OK, just stay with me, alright?"

Blood oozed from a cut on her forehead, mingling with the dark red strands of her hair - red as blood.

"Please be OK," Harry whispered as she was loaded into an ambulance.

 **-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-**

 **So, some decisions have been made.** _ **Oracle**_ **will continue through the first, second and third books, while book four, five, six and (maybe) seven will be in another book.  
**

 **Chapter three is ready to go, with an interlude** _ **Keres**_ **after.**

 **Review if you know where the headings come from (you should know from this one!)**

 **Please, read and review, tell me what you like, what you don't like, I want to know.**

 **~Queen of the Rings.**


	4. 1-3 Hebe

**Chapter 3**

 _ **Hebe**_

 _The goddess of youth and daughter of Zeus and Hera_

Cassandra opened her eyes to a white ceiling and emerald eyes looking down at her.

"You're awake!" Harry cried, evidently happy to see her eye open. Cassandra gave him a soft smile, and struggled to sit up. Harry reached back and re-arranged the pillows, then helped her into a sitting position.

"I was so worried - your leg…" he trailed off, and Cassandra looked down to the normal, slim shape of her left leg, and the larger, more bulky outline of her right leg underneath the hospital sheets.

"I'll be fine," she reassured him with a smile.

"I hope so," he replied, almost too quietly to be heard.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Harry and Cassandra were "enjoying" breakfast with their relatives when there came a knock at the door.

"Who's that?" Petunia asked, instantly on the alert.

"We haven't invited anyone over…" continued Vernon. The pair turned to Dudley.

"I haven't!" he cried, then all three turned, their eyes stabbing (imaginary) daggers into the Potter twins.

"Get the door, freaks," Vernon told them. Cassandra and Harry hurried to obey their Uncle, nearly leaping from their seats (or getting up slowly, and with the help of a cane, in Cassandra's case) to hurry to the door. When they opened it, it was to a neat woman with a stern visage wearing an emerald green dress.

"I would assume you are the Potters?" she asked. Cassandra noted a hint of a Scottish burr in her voice. She turned to Harry, and he nodded.

"We are, ma'am," he replied. "Who are you?" The question was quite forward, and Cassandra nudged him in the side with an elbow. The woman smiled thinly.

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, from Hogwarts. I'm here to take you to Diagon Alley. Are your … guardians aware of this?"

Caught out by the recently acknowledged Professor McGonagall, Harry turned to Cassandra with a pleading look on his face. Turning to the Professor, Cassandra gave a smile with no real emotion behind it.

"Uhhh. We _may_ have forgotten to tell them?" she said, though it came out as more of a question. Professor McGonagall hid the flash of amusement that appeared on her face, and proceeded to disabuse them of the notion that they could just leave.

"I will need to tell your guardians before I take you away - otherwise I could be charged as a kidnapper," she told them with no small amusement. Harry nudged Cassandra, who sighed.

"Um, Professor?"

"Yes, Cassandra?" The Professor asked.

"They won't care if you take us away forever. You don't need to bother," Cassandra said softly. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, a flash of anger swiftly hidden passing across her face.

"I _told_ Albus, I _told him_ they were the worst sort, I _told_ him I could have taken them, but _noooo_ , he just had to insist," she muttered as she made her way into the house. Harry and Cassandra shared a worried look as they trailed after her.

She entered the kitchen, and the twins stopped just outside the door. Cassandra reached out and snagged a corner of the Professor's dress, stopping her.

"Please, don't say anything that could make him angry - and uhhhh…" she trailed off. Harry picked up where she left off.

"Don't mention anything magical. He hates that," he said curtly. Cassandra winced in remembered pain.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Cassandra, Harry and Dudley sat on the stairs, watching the entertainment set out for them. Cassandra turned the head of her cane over and over, absorbing herself in memorising the details, while watching out of the corner of her eye. Dudley was trying to play a video game, but he kept looking up, his mouth open in amazement. Harry whispered snarky comments to Cassandra as they watched the fight escalate.

"You cannot deny their birthright!" Professor McGonagall snapped angrily. Vernon's face grew slowly redder, while Petunia responded in her shrill voice.

They had been at it for a while now, and it was immensely amusing. The three eleven-year-olds were incredibly amused by the three adults arguing like they did - complete with screams, shouts, and threats of violence.

Suddenly Vernon stomped off, returning with a long, thin package. Harry flinched back into Cassandra's arms, and even Dudley looked a bit nervous - because that long, thin package contained a gun.

Illegal? Definitely.

Dangerous? Definitely.

Scary? You bet.

Harry and Cassandra had been threatened with it more than once, but never had it actually been pulled out. Cassandra closed her eye, then heard a yell she recognised as Uncle Vernon's. She looked, ready to turn away, but the metal of the gun was bright cherry red and smoking as it landed on the floor, and Vernon's large, beefy hands were burnt. The Professor turned away, a look of pure anger on her face, before turning away.

"Come, children. We're going, whether he likes it or not," she snapped. She looked at their startled faces, then schooled her own. "I'm not angry at you, but that, that utter …" Professor McGonagall dissolved into creative and colourful Gaelic cursing that made Cassandra hide a smile.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Diagon Alley was an … interesting place. After being nearly accosted by so-called _fans_ , the twins and Professor McGonagall, they walked to Gringotts, greeting the goblins there. Professor McGonagall whispered to the goblin at a desk for a moment, and neither Harry nor Cassandra could make out what she said. The goblin grunted something back, then climbed off his high stool and walked off. The Professor herded the twins after him and into a small office.

The goblin growled something to another goblin standing outside the door, and the second goblin scarpered as the four entered the office.

"I am Axeblade, manager of the Potter estates and any and all House part of it. I deal in gold, alliances, Lordships, balances and debts. I have been recently alerted to the fact that you do not seem to be receiving our monthly statements for your vaults, and the Goblin Nation had decided to contact you and ascertain that you have your vaults, Heir and Head rings, and Lord- and Lady-ships."

Cassandra turned to Harry, and found him looking back at her, eyes wide. Cassandra shrugged.

"OK then, Mister Axeblade, fill us in on what we don't know."

And thus began a full half-hour of surprises, rituals and very complex legal-speak that the twins needed the Professor to translate into normal English.

They walked out of the bank with several pouches of money - larger on the inside then on the outside, unobtrusive and nearly filled to the brim. Rings adorned their hands, hidden due to some clever goblin magic.

Due to some interesting mixing of blood, the twins were heir to some very important families. From their fathers side, they had Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, while from their mothers side, they got Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Le Fay. Their parents had decided to split the inheritances of the families - Harry was given the Lordships of Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, while Cassandra held the Ladyships off Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Le Fay. Both wore the rings for Headship of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter - possibly due to the reluctance of their parents to name the oldest child born.

(All six other houses were also Noble and Most Ancient)

It had been an interesting surprise and nearly gave the poor Professor a heart attack. Apparently they were also in the line of succession for several other houses, but the Heads and Heirs of those were (mostly) alive and well. Or just alive.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Shopping had been easy - at Madam Malkins they chatted politely, if not pleasantly, with a blond boy with a pointed face, while they bought trunks with slightly expanded space. The bookstore was interesting - Cassandra attempted to buy nearly every book in the store, and the Professor sighed with a mutter of "already had _one_ bookworm."

They bought pets - Harry got a Snowy Owl that he named Hedwig, and Cassandra found a small kneazle-cross kitten with soft grey fur and luminous amber eyes that she called Hecate after the Greek Goddess of Magic. (Also necromancy, the dead, spirits, crossroads and choices, but we don't talk about that.)

Lastly they entered the wand shop, Ollivanders. It took a while, but eventually Harry found his match, a holly wand with a phoenix feather core. Then it was Cassandra's turn to be measured, then have hundreds of wands thrust at her.

He started her off with a wand of silver lime with unicorn hair core. At first it felt warm, but it soon heated up to a searing temperature, and Cassandra dropped it. Cherry and Dragon heartstring got the best reaction, causing hundreds of sparks that filled the air, then nearly freezing her fingers off.

Ollivander continued to watch the reactions of the wands carefully, then disappeared into the shelves. Cassandra was slightly taken aback at his sudden disappearance. Was he just going to leave her there, wandless?

He reappeared suddenly, holding a single silvery-grey box in his hands.

"Try this one," he said in his papery voice. Cassandra turned back to glance at Harry, who nodded her onwards. She reached out and grasped the wand.

It was made of a very dark wood, an almost midnight shade with a rich red sheen. Ten inches exactly, the handle was delicately and elaborately carved with a strange swirling design that looked like tree branches. It was a beautiful wand, made even more beautiful when she waved it and swirling silvery sparks seemed to flow from the tip of the wand. It seemed to thrum in acceptance beneath her fingers, and Cassandra gasped as it tapped into her magic. She looked up at the old wandmaker.

"Ebony and dragon heartstring from a particularly old, yet beautiful Swedish Short-Snout. Ten inches long exactly. I was wondering… it's interesting that this wand chose you." Cassandra tilted her head and motioned for him to continue. "Ebony works best with those who hold strong to their beliefs and are non-conformist. Dragon heartstring is a rather powerful core that can be somewhat temeramental but bonds strongly to their owner, indicating loyalty from both the wand and the witch." He stared at her, silvery eyes boring into her emerald right eye and white left. "I expect great things, from you and your brother both."

They stepped outside into the warm sunshine, and shivered, glancing at each other. They had been given a destiny by the old man - to be just as great or greater that the man that killed their parents, and whether or not that meant to defeat him, they didn't know.

 **-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-**

 **So that's chapter 3. I hope you like it.**

 **Interlude 2 will be posted tomorrow – It's called** _ **Keres**_ **and is about the Halloween that started it all.**

 **I've just recently become obsessed with Kingsman, so I might write a fanfiction about that. It's probably going to be called** _ **The Golden Garden**_ **.**

 **So, new resolutions have been made – books one to three are this fic, while four to seven will be in another fic – called** _ **Rose Petals and Spilled Blood**_ **.**

 **As always, please review,**

 **~Queen of the Rings.**


	5. Interlude II - Keres

**Interlude 2**

 _ **Keres**_

 _The spirits of violent death_

"Avada Kedavra!" he cried and watched in satisfaction as the red-head fell to the ground. He turned on the children, twins. Both with bright green eyes, the exact same shade of green as the curse that had stolen their mother before their eyes not two minutes ago.

( _Green eyes stared up at him accusingly_ )

Harry and Cassandra Potter. The twin children of those who had thrice defied. It was only the boy, only the boy who was mentioned in the prophecy, but the girl had those cursed green eyes.

( _Green eyes stared up at him accusingly_ )

Those eyes seemed to bore into his soul. The girl - Cassandra - pulled her brother tighter. Both babies stared at him. The boy's eyes were filled with tears, but the girl's eyes were full of anger - and something else. Almost sympathy. He narrowed his own, bright red eyes at her.

The girl reached her two chubby hands out, and he lifted her, almost unconsciously obeying her unspoken demand. The girl laid a chubby hand on his cheek, and tilted her head.

( _Green eyes stared up at him accusingly_ )

There was something _wrong_ in her gaze, it was too knowing, too understanding for a small child. Something inside him shifted, but he instantly quashed it. Cassandra was odd, almost threatening. He could use her, as a weapon. But he had to take her gaze off him.

He pulled his wand from his sleeve ( _green eyes watching his every movement_ ) and twirled it beneath her tiny nose. Behind her, Harry watched silently.

He laid the tip of his wand just beneath her left eye, and thought for a moment. He could gouge it, pierce it, blast it. In the end, though, he pushed back the red hair - the red of spilled blood - and moved his wand tip to a place on her forehead.

" _Pyros_ ", he whispered, and a small flame burst into being at the tip of his wand. He dragged it down across her face, leaving a wake of seared red flesh.

( _Green eyes stared up at him accusingly_ )

Now for her brother, the prophecy child. He aimed his wand and cried out the curse.

(" _Avada Kedavra_ ")

He fell, pain searing every inch of him, and two pairs of bright green eyes watched him fall dispassionately.

( _Green eyes stared up at him accusingly_ )

 _Green eyes watched him fall - was that a hint of cruel glee he saw? Of revenge? No, he was dreaming, floating, a disembodied wraith, and there was something very wrong with Cassandra Potter._


	6. 1-4 Maia

**Chapter 4**

 _ **Maia**_

 _The mother of the god of travellers and a beautiful nymph_

The Dursleys left them alone when they came back from Diagon Alley - at least, after Professor McGonagall gave them a verbal lashing, tearing strips off them for their treatment of the two Potters. She had then turned to Harry and Cassandra and told them to tell her if anything happened over the holidays when they got to school. She left with a final snapped insult, and Harry and Cassandra glanced at eachother.

They were given Dudley's spare bedroom, with another bed squeezed in - Minerva McGonagall had put the fear of magic into their hearts, and they seemed to be determined to ascertain that the twins had nothing to complain about. Cassandra immediately dived into their trunks to pull out their new books. Harry sighed, before grabbing another book : _A genealogy of prominent Wizarding Families_ by _Theodosia Nott_. They flicked through for a while, no sound heard in the room bar the turning of pages, the crinkling of parchment and the scratch of Cassandra's quill.

For the most part, they were left alone. Harry and Cassandra kept their wand up their sleeves - they had baggy sleeves for just this purpose - and would … threaten … their relatives if any of them made an angry move towards them.

Eventually September 1st came along, and their Uncle - reluctantly - drove them to Kings Cross Station.

Harry and Cassandra moved confidently towards the stone brick barrier between platforms 9 and 10. The Professor had shown them how to get to Platform 9 3/4, and they moved easily through the stone wall.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

They chose an empty compartment, and the twins hauled their big, heavy trunks inside. A pair of red-head twins passed the door, before backtracking and popping their heads in.

"Do you need a hand to get your trunks up on the rack?" One of them asked. Cassandra smiled at them, and Harry nodded.

"Yes, please," Harry said. "Who are you?" he asked. Perhaps he was a little rude, for Cassandra dug her elbow into his ribs, but the identical twins smiled.

"Fred and George," one said.

"Gred and Forge," the other added.

"Weasely, Prankers extrodinaire, at your service!" they both said together. Cassandra smiled.

"I'm Cassandra," she told them. "This is my twin, Harry. I take it you are twins too?" They grinned.

"Yeah. Wait…"

One twin turned to the other.

"Harry and Cassandra? As in Harry and Cassandra Potter?" The Potter twins exchanged looks.

"Yeah. That's us," Harry said after a pause. One of the Weasley twins turned to the other. They raised their eyebrows and shrugged.

"Huh," they said in unison. Cassandra gave them a small smile.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

They had just settled in, and the train was underway, when someone knocked on their door. Harry opened it to reveal another red-head, this time lugging a rather battered trunk behind him.

"Hi! Can I sit in your compartment? There's nowhere else to sit." Behind him someone gave an exasperated sniff.

"Of course not," the mystery person said. "You've been kicked out of those compartments because you were rude. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you?" Hermione said speedily. Harry raised an eyebrow at Cassandra, who shrugged.

"I'm Harry. This is Cassandra," Harry said.

"Nice to meet you," Cassandra added.

"As in the Potter twins? I've heard of you. Is it true? What the books say, I mean." Cassandra shrugged.

"Probably not. We've never been interviewed about it. Or anything, really. Are you a muggleborn?" Cassandra asked. Hermione slumped slightly.

"Yes. What of it?" she asked defensively. Harry smiled.

"Nothing, really. We're muggle-raised, and we were wondering how you felt about it all…" he trailed off. Hermione started to blush.

"Oh, no! It's OK, really. It's just… some people already kicked me out of their compartment for being muggleborn. I don't understand."

"Me neither. It's OK, we'll look out for you, though," Cassandra told her. Harry nodded in agreement.

"For now that means you should come and sit down with us," Harry told her. Behind her, Ron frowned.

"You too, Ron," Cassandra said with a small smile.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

"What do you like to do?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I like chess. Wizarding chess is the best," Ron replied. Cassandra tilted her head.

"Wizarding chess? What's the difference between Wizarding chess and normal chess?" she asked. Ron grinned at her.

"In wizard chess, the pieces actually move. They listen to what you say and can give their own advice. I'm really good at it," he said. It sounded slightly like boasting, but hey! The boy had five older brothers and a younger sister, all of whom were good at what they did, and were well-known in their circles.

"I like cooking. It's soothing, and it's satisfying to eat something delicious that you yourself have made," Harry said. It was the truth. Cassandra noticed that he let out _why_ he cooked, but said nothing.

"I love reading," Hermione admitted with a blush. "I've read all our textbooks three times over. What about you, Cassandra?" she asked curiously.

"I'm interested in a lot of things," Cassandra said, shrugging.

"Like what?" Hermione asked. Cassandra frowned, the reached up to her trunk, pulling out a thick bundle of muggle notebooks tied together with string. Some of them were clearly very old, tattered and dirty. Others looked newer. However, all had bits of paper and parchment sticking out. They were written in pencil, pen and ink. Blue, black, green and red pen, and all shades of coloured pencils and pens could be seen. Ron stared. Hermione's eyes were as big as the large golden galleon. Harry just shrugged.

Cassandra started to pull out several notebooks from the string. Harry joined her, piling the notebooks, shuffling loose bits of paper or parchment back in their respective books.

When the twins were done, there was a few neat stacks. Cassandra gave a small smile at the gobsmacked expression of their two companions.

"Herbology, Astronomy, Gardening, Cooking, Biology, Mathematics," she said. With each name, she pointed at a notebook. Most had symbols on their spines or covers, others just had handwritten labels - on the book itself, stuck on with glue or sticky-tape, or on a sticker. "Potions, Physics, Chemistry, Architecture, Technology, Drama, English, Divination, Magical Creatures, Psychology, Forensics, Law," she continued. Harry enjoyed the look of awe on their female friend's face. "Arithmancy, Charms, Transfiguration, Wand Lore, History - Hot wars, Cold wars, Ancient Empires, Magical History, British History (Magical and Muggle)," Cassandra intoned. If Hermione's eyes got any wider, they would take up half her face. "Magical Theory, Magical Laws, Laws of Magic, Analytics and Philosophy."

Hermione and Ron gaped. Cassandra blushed, and Harry hugged his sister proudly.

"Cassie's a little genius," he stated.

"I'm not little!" Cassandra argued. If anyone noticed she didn't deny the label of genius, they didn't say. "If I'm little, you are too!" Harry wore an amused and slightly patronising smile.

"If I'm little, you are positively tiny," he responded. He was right too. Both were small from malnourishment and abuse, but Cassandra's frame was not merely petite, but absolutely tiny.

"Hmph," Cassandra said, turning away and crossing her arms.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

"So … what house does everyone want to be sorted into?" Ron asked. "I'd like Gryffindor. It's for the brave." Harry tilted his head, examining the red-head with a considering expression.

"Actually, you could be either Hufflepuff, for your loyalty, or Slytherin." Harry noticed Ron was turning a bit red and hurried to explain. "You have lots of ambition. You want to stand out, be better than your brothers, right? That means you have ambition - Slytherin's most notable trait. And not all Slytherins are bad, they just have a bad reputation." Ron stopped, and thought about it.

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted.

"If however we're sorted wants you in Slytherin, go for it. You could do really well," Cassandra told him.

"Okay," he replied, sounding more confident.

"I think Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," Hermione said. Cassandra considered her for a moment.

"Why Gryffindor? I don't think you'll be happy there. You'd be in Ravenclaw or Slytherin for the same reasons as Ron," Cassandra told her.

"I guess I can see that," Hermione said. "What about Harry?"

"Harry could really be any house, but, oddly enough, not Gryffindor. He's brave, but he's not stupid," Cassandra said. Harry snorted.

"Thankyou for the praise, most wonderful sister of mine," he replied. Cassandra turned her nose to the roof of the compartment.

"Your thanks is duly noted," Cassandra said in the most pretentious voice possible. There was silence for one second … two seconds, then the entire compartment burst into laughter.

The door slid open to reveal a snobby blond boy with two mountains of muscle behind him - evidently bodyguards.

"What is going on here?" he asked. The four laughed even more - he had spoken in a near exact copy of Cassandra's silly posh voice.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

"Firs' years o'er here! Firs' years follow me!" The cry came from a veritable giant of a man holding a lantern.

The four new friends huddled together. They got in a boat together, and when they came around a corner, they all gasped in awe - Hogwarts castle was beautiful.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Minerva McGonagall opened the door and gave the new first-years a short speech. She looked over them, eyes softening imperceptibly when they landed on the Potter twins. The first-years walked into the Great Hall and line up in front of the staff table.

The sorting was about to begin.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

 **So sorry I'm late posting this – holidays started and I really have no excuse. Anyway, here is chapter 4 and** _ **Keres,**_ **because I forgot to post that last week.**

 **~Queen of the Rings**


	7. 1-5 Hecate

**Chapter 5**

 _ **Hecate**_

 _Hecate was the goddess of magic and choices, commanding the crossroads._

Harry and Cassandra huddled together, Ron, Hermione and the blonde boy from the train - _Draco Malfoy, nice to meet you_ \- around them.

Professor McGonagall made a short speech about how their Houses would be like their family while at school.

Cassandra nudged Harry with a pointy elbow.

"Hope not," she whispered. He nodded.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

They stood in a line by the head table. Professor McGonagall in her emerald robes was holding a rather tattered and battered hat. She unrolled a scroll and started to call out names.

Cassandra watched as the others were sorted. Hermione was sent to Ravenclaw, as Cassandra had thought. She seemed to get along with the other students of her house. One Neville Longbottom got into Hufflepuff - Cassandra only noticed because he seemed to be trembling with relief that he wasn't Gryffindor. The snobby blond boy - a "Malfoy, Draco" went to Slytherin, she could only imagine it was for ambition rather than any cunning.

Then her own name was called. Cassandra stepped up nervously and planted her rear on the stool. The tattered hat was lowered over her head.

" _You are kind, but only to those you care about. Your heart is ringed with walls. You are brave, but not recklessly so, you see no benefits to endangering yourself. You have patience and cunning, but rarely can you make an effort. You are clever, extremely so, but not knowledge for knowledge's sake._

 _"Your closed heart keeps you from Hufflepuff, but you lack the recklessness that would see you entrance to Gryffindor. So you have two choices now. Slytherin, or Ravenclaw."_

There was no contest.

" _RAVENCLAW_!" The Hat shouted. Cassandra smiled, then frowned at the whispering students.

Of course she wasn't Gryffindor, she wasn't recklessly brave. She was quiet and studious, not loud and brash (which seemed her main opinion on Gryffindors in general - and yes, she knew it seemed quite biased, but was honestly all she'd seen so far. She needed more data.)

She sat at the table of blue and bronze opposite the prefect, who introduced herself as Penelope Clearwater. She tilted her head to where Harry was taking a seat. The curiously intelligent hat was too big on him (as it was on her) and slid over his eyes. Cassandra began to suspect it was made that way on purpose. She didn't hear what it said, of course not, it seemed to whisper in their ears, but after a moment it gave a cry that shocked the Hall.

" _SLYTHERIN_!" the Hat called, and Harry slipped off the stool and made his way to the green and silver table. The Hall was dead silent. Cassandra pulled out a pin from her pocket and let it tinkle to the plate. Heads turned and she gave a sheepish smile, before clapping.

She didn't pay much attention to the Sortings after that, with the exception of Ron Weasley, who goes into Gryffindor and glances briefly the twins' way, before ignoring them. It seemed like he didn't listen to her.

Oh well.

Cassandra looked to her left and met the gaze of the bushy-haired Hermione Granger.

"You're Ravenclaw!" she grinned. Cassandra smiled back.

"As if there was any doubt," she replied. Hermione looked around, then back at Cassandra's emerald eye, her milky eye obscured by her rose-red hair.

"Well," she began hesitantly. "People did think you and your brother would be in Gryffindor. Something to do with your parents being Gryffindor."

Cassandra frowned. "My parents have nothing to do with my house placement. And why would I be in Gryffindor? I lack the idiotic recklessness they are known for, and my sense of honour is … a little different. And Harry? Ambition and cunning? That has his name all over! He can be many things, but he isn't stupid. He has a working brain, and he doesn't go rushing into danger, thank you very much. And we _needed_ cunning and ambition growing up. Life isn't easy, and we know that. Why would Harry be Gryffindor?"

The eavesdropping Ravenclaws nodded, thinking it over. Food appeared at the table, and instantly, Cassandra pulled out her notebook, writing frantically in her loopy cursive. She listed the foods she could see on their table and dot pointed at least three theories for the sudden appearance of the food. She needed more information, for now she couldn't prove or disprove any of her theories. She tucked the book back inside her robe pocket, turning her attention to the food.

A plate of roast chicken and vegetables later, dessert appeared, and Cassandra started to pay more attention to the people around her. The Ravenclaws appeared studious, several sporting glasses, many with ink-stained hands. They were mostly quiet, with the exception of a group of girls, she thought they were third year. Their leader seemed to be an Asian girl, who could be pretty if she made an effort, with the second-in-command being a girl with corkscrew curls and unfortunate skin.

In her own year though, she noticed the Indian Padma Patil, one of a set of twins - the other, she recalled, was in Gryffindor. A pretty Asian girl, Su Li was in conversation with a Terry Boot, while one Anthony Goldstien listened. Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst were deep in conversation, from what she overheard, they were talking about Diagon Alley and their reactions to it. Michael Corner was sitting apart, a book on his lap.

She noted them down in her memory, intending to write them down later, before turning her attention to the desserts. Overwhelmed by the choice, she settled for meringue with berries. Later, when everyone had finished, and Dumbledore had dismissed them, the prefect that she knew from earlier stood and called for the first years to follow her.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Feeling quite confused by the various corridors, moving staircases and talking portraits, she focused enough to answer the riddle asked by an eagle doorknocker - I appear once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in a thousand years _the letter m_.

Cassandra admired the sky blue tower and stared out the large window to the starry night beyond. Bookshelves lined the walls, and small desks with comfortable chairs littered the airy space. She headed up the stairs and flopped into her canopy bed, pulling the blue and bronze curtains around her as she pulled out her notebooks.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Late into the night, she finally fell asleep, blowing out her candle in its bronze holder. She shifted into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes.

Her brother was separated from her, and she was alone in the bed. Cassandra sat up abruptly, emerald eye wide. No-one had commented on her blind eye. Her hair had been loose, but tucked behind her ears, but no-one asked what had happened. Hermione had mentioned Harry and her being in several books, but they had no right knowing that her scar covered half her face and interfered with her sight. Yet they did. Apparently that was in the books as well. Grumblling, she laid back down. Maybe tonight, she'd get some sleep.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

Professor Severus Tobias Snape was feeling quite confused. The Potter children were nothing like he'd thought they would be. The girl was the spitting image of Lily, and, it seemed, similar in temperament. Except, he noticed, that she rarely spoke, her hair let loose over her face, covering her scar. Immersed in her books and notes, she didn't engage with her peers. The boy, however, was a carbon copy of his father, with Lily's eyes. Severus had expected that they would be Gryffindor, but it seemed that perhaps Harry had not inherited his fathers personality.

The only thing to do was to withhold judgement until he knew more.

Cassandra's single green eye though, seemed to see right through him in his dreams.

-()-()-(-O-)-()-()-

 **So it has begun. Yes, this is late, several months late, but I had AJ – Australian Jamboree. So, what do you think about their Houses? This chapter was a bit forced, maybe because I had difficulty deciding. Also I need to get back into the flow of writing.**

 **Updates will be slow, I've just started Year 10 now, so don't expect weekly, or even biweekly, updates.**

 **Please tell me your thoughts, and thanks for reading,**

 **~Queen of the Rings**


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